There has been a surge of interest in telematics as managers recognise the substantial benefits it brings to fleet and operational efficiency. Often referred to as 'black box' technology, the software is fitted directly into vehicles and reports back on a range of data driven analytics - from driver behaviour to mileage.

So why is this surge of interest? And how can Telematics help a business that runs a fleet of vehicles? Route planning and fuel economy

Telematics helps create the most efficient route from A to B. This means optimised, custom routes built around what’s most important to your business and the driving style of those manning the vehicles. One of the headline benefits optimal route planning brings is fuel economy, which is critical to maintaining healthy profit margins. Research* indicates that fuel accounts for about 30% of a fleet’s total operating costs - so it’s vital to reduce burn.

Vehicle management and protection

Telematics can intuitively log driver speeds and detect potential hazards and these insights enable management to better tackle fuel consumption, improve delivery schedule management and also consider wider environment issues. In larger companies assets can ‘disappear’ or become under-used, both of which represent a significant loss to profits. GPS tracking enables teams to ensure all vehicles are being used efficiently. It also provides managers with the information needed to make profitable decisions on purchasing or disposing of additional vehicles. Driver behaviour and safety

While risk is sometimes unavoidable, minimising your exposure and protecting drivers and assets is critical. Telematics can tap into real-time data to alert management on a range of driver behaviours, including if the vehicle deviates from the speed

limit, brakes too hard or if the engine is still running while loading or offloading in a hazardous cargo area, increasing the effectiveness of fleet safety programmes at every touch point. What the future holds

Today there is practically no limit to the different applications for telematics. The world is becoming more connected, and new ways to use location-based information are being developed constantly – so to keep costs low, productivity high and a competitive edge constant, telematics is a must for any business with a fleet.

With this in mind, expect to see vehicle manufacturers capitalise on this demand by installing telematics technology into fleet vehicles. An example of this is Ford Telematics powered by Telogis. Ford Telematics is now available to fleet customers as a dealer-installed option, offered through Ford’s network of specialist Transit Centres. Moves like this mean that Telematics will quickly become a feature integrated into fleets at the point of sale, demonstrating that the software is now front of mind Sergio Barata when making purchasing decisions about fleet vehicles.